Home⇛Annals of Tropical Research⇛vol. 47 no. 2 (2025)

The role of nurses in One Health: A public health nursing perspective

Janet Alexis A De los Santos | Kevin L. de Vera | Jose Marie C. Barcelo | Shuaibu Saidu Musa

 

Abstract:

One Health, defined as a collaborative and transdisciplinary approach that links human, animal, and environmental health, has gained momentum as the world faces converging crises, including zoonotic pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and climate change. While medicine and veterinary science have spearheaded its implementation, the nursing profession, particularly public health nursing, remains underrepresented despite its natural alignment with One Health principles. This perspective highlights the essential role of nurses in advancing One Health, emphasizing how their holistic philosophy, preventive focus, and community presence uniquely position them to operationalize this framework. Nurses contribute to One Health through surveillance and early detection, outbreak response, health education, antimicrobial stewardship, climate adaptation, and interprofessional collaboration. They act as trusted community liaisons, bridging scientific knowledge with culturally grounded practices and advocating for equitydriven policies. Yet barriers, including limited awareness, professional silos, workforce shortages, and a lack of formal representation, restrict their full participation. Addressing these requires integrating One Health into nursing education, ensuring nursing representation in governance structures, resourcing nurses for expanded roles, and investing in nursing-led research. Nurses are indispensable to translating One Health from principle to practice. By empowering nurses through education, policy, and research, health systems can enhance resilience and equity in addressing global health challenges. Integrating nursing into One Health is not only a matter of professional recognition but also a pragmatic strategy for building healthier communities, more sustainable environments, and stronger health systems worldwide.



References:

  1. Abel, A. A., Amancio, A. V., Bangloy, Z., Utayde, M. D., & Abad, J. C. (2023). Dengue preventive practices of different barangays in Tuguegarao City. Journal of Advances in Allied Health Sciences Research, 10, 56-62. Available at http://urdc.usl.edu.ph/journals/JAAHSR/papers/vol10/JAAHSR%20Volume%2010,%20Series%202023-56-62.pdf
  2. American Nurses Association. (2023). Nurses’ role in addressing global climate change, climate justice, and health [Position statement]. ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/official-position-statements/id/climate-change/
  3. Australian College of Nursing. (2025). One Health in practice: How nurses can lead sustainable change [Internet]. Available at https://www.acn.edu.au/nurseclick /one-health-in-practice-how-nurses-can-lead-sustainable-change
  4. Badeaux, R. (2023, October 23). ‘One Health’ team cares for people and their pets. UC Davis Health News. https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/-one-health-team-cares-for-people-and-their-pets/2023/10
  5. Bonacaro, A., Solfrizzo, F. G., Regano, D., Negrello, F., Domeniconi, C., Volpon, A., Taurchini, S., Toselli, P., & Baesti, C. (2024). Antimicrobial stewardship in healthcare: Exploring the role of nurses in promoting change, identifying barrier elements and facilitators-A meta-synthesis. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 12(21), 2122. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12212122
  6. Cella, E., Giovanetti, M., Benedetti, F., Scarpa, F., Johnston, C., Borsetti, A., Ceccarelli, G., Azarian, T., Zella, D., & Ciccozzi, M. (2023). Joining forces against antibiotic resistance: The One Health solution. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland), 12(9), 1074. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12091074
  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, June 27). About One Health. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/one-health/about/index.html
  8. De Mello, R. L., Panazzolo, G.A.K., Favero Filho, L. A., Soares, O.J.D., Panerari, A.C.D., Kmetiuk, L. B., & Favero, G. M. (2024). Nursing in One Health, extension and research. Contribuciones a las Ciencias Sociales, 17(2), e5253. https://doi.org/10.55905/revconv.17n.2-178
  9. Dos Santos, O. P., Melly, P., Joost, S., & Verloo, H. (2023). Climate change, environmental health, and challenges for nursing discipline. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5682. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095682
  10. Ercan Sahin, N., & Oner, M. (2024). Nurse educators’ knowledge and opinions about the “One Health” approach. International Nursing Review, 71(4), 1113-1120. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12983
  11. Gaudreau, C., Guillaumie, L., Jobin, E., & Diallo, T. A. (2024). Nurses and climate change: A narrative review of nursing associations’ recommendations for integrating climate change mitigation strategies. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 56(3), 193-203.
  12. Henley, P., Igihozo, G., & Wotton, L. (2021). One Health approaches require community engagement, education, and international collaborations-A lesson from Rwanda. Nature Medicine, 27(6), 947-948. https://doi.org/10.10 38/s41591-021-01350-5
  13. Ho, G., & Parker, J. (2006). Avian influenza: Risk, preparedness and the roles of public health nurses in Hong Kong. Nursing Inquiry, 13(1), 2-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1800.2006.00301.x
  14. Holmgren, J., Paillard-Borg, S., Saaristo, P., & von Strauss, E. (2019). Nurses’ experiences of health concerns, teamwork, leadership and knowledge transfer during an Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Nursing Open, 6(3), 824-833.https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.258
  15. Kelly, T. R., Machalaba, C., Karesh, W. B., Crook, P.Z., Gilardi, K., Nziza, J., Uhart, M.M., Robles, E.A., Saylors, K., Joly, D.O., Monagin, C., Mangombo, P.M., Kingebeni, P.M., Kazwala, R., Wolking, D., Smith, N., Consortium, P., & Mazet, J.A.K. (2020). Implementing One Health approaches to confront emerging and re-emerging zoonotic disease threats: Lessons from PREDICT. One Health Outlook, 2(1), 1.https://doi.org/10.1186/s42522-019-0007-9
  16. Lagunday, J. C. S., Lamboon, T. L. A., Lapastora, J. I. P., Lasafin, D. C. A., Laviña, J. H. T., & Lazaleta, L. J. G. (2024). Level of preparedness of public health nurses during dengue outbreak in Iloilo City [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Central Philippine University. https://repository.cpu.edu.ph/handle/20.500.12852/3405
  17. Manning, M. L. (2025). Nursing leaders sleepwalking into the antimicrobial resistance pandemic. Nursing Outlook, 73(1), 102320. https://doi.org/10.1016 /j.outlook.2024.102320
  18. Mapatse, M., Sabeta, C., Fafetine, J., & Abernethy, D. (2022). Knowledge, attitudes, practices (KAP) and control of rabies among community households and health practitioners at the human-wildlife interface in Limpopo National Park, Massingir District, Mozambique. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16(3), e0010202. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010202
  19. Nikpour, J., Hickman, R. L., Clayton-Jones, D., Gonzalez-Guarda, R. M., & Broome, M. E. (2022). Inclusive leadership to guide nursing’s response to improving health equity. Nursing Outlook, 70(6 Suppl 1), S10-S19. https://doi.org/10.10 16/j.outlook.2022.02.006
  20. Sangong, S., Saah, F. I., & Bain, L. E. (2025). Effective community engagement in One Health research in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. One Health Outlook, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42522-024-00126-4
  21. Shyaka, A., Igihoza, G., Tegli, M., Ntiyaduhanye, E., Ndizeye, E., Umuhoza, A., Knight-Jones, T., & Richards, S. (2024). Rwanda One Health achievements and challenges: The final push toward policy implementation. One Health Cases. https://doi.org/10.1079/onehealthcases. 2024.0010
  22. Togami, E., Behravesh, C. B., Dutcher, T. V., Hansen, G. R., King, L. J., Pelican, K. M., & Mazet, J. A. K. (2023). Characterizing the One Health workforce to promote interdisciplinary, multisectoral approaches in global health problem-solving. PLOS ONE, 18(5), e0285705. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285705
  23. Weiss, R. A., & Sankaran, N. (2022). Emergence of epidemic diseases: Zoonoses and other origins. Faculty Reviews, 11, 2. https://doi.org/10.12703/r/11-2
  24. Zhou, X., & Zheng, J. (2024). Building a transdisciplinary science of One Health with a global vision. Global Health Journal, 8(3), 99-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glohj.2024.08.004

Tools


Copyright © 2026  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic